


My Girl

by Strangerthingsprobably



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bittersweet, Gen, idk if i need to change the relationships, please let me know if i do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 15:29:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14718740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangerthingsprobably/pseuds/Strangerthingsprobably
Summary: Hopper interrupts El while she's getting ready for The Snow Ball with a little surprise.





	My Girl

Nancy was just finishing up on El’s eye shadow when they heard few soft taps at El’s bedroom door. The younger girl flicked her head to the side. The door creaked open to reveal a somber looking Hopper. 

“You okay?” Nancy asked, putting down the blush.

Hopper let go of a heavy sigh. “Yeah, kid. I’m alright.” 

Eleven wasn’t even in her dress yet, but Hopper still felt the wind leave his body. She already looked so much older, so much more grown up than that little short-haired girl he rescued so long ago. He felt an overwhelming sense of pride. It glowed momentarily the same way her warm eyes did surrounded by that purple eyeshadow.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Nancy said. She smiled at El before leaving the room and gave Hop a pat on the shoulder as she passed, maybe to let him know everything will be alright.

Hopper crossed the room to El’s bedside. “What’s up?” He asked, hoping to diffuse the awkward tension only he felt. 

“We’re still getting ready,” El answered.

“Right, right,” Hopper said. He looked around the room. 

A mess of hair product bottles littered the dresser in an effort to maintain El’s Henderson-esque curls. They seemed to have worked. Nancy’s makeup kit sat in the center of Eleven’s bed filled with lipsticks and eyeshadows and all sorts of other things he couldn’t name, but El’s face was made up only minimally and it was radiant.

He meandered a bit more around the room trying to stall, but he knew there was no point to dragging it on. Finally, he turned on the spot, faced her, and bit the bullet.

“I was wondering if it was okay if I told you a bedtime story about her tonight.” His face was tight, body tensed, as if that was the hardest part of the whole story, but he knew it was just the beginning. 

El’s brows drew together in confusion. “But I’m not going to bed yet?”

They had been through so much together, and yet that puppy-dog look always melted his heart a little more each time. The tightness in his throat melted away with it too.

“Yeah, I know, but the dance ends late and you might just be too tired to stay up afterwards. So I thought maybe telling you before would be better, y’know, if you want.” He shrugged it off, trying to look nonchalant by occupying himself with one of her books, but he felt her eyes on him. Hopper stopped and faced her. “Is that okay?” He asked. 

El nodded in her usual quiet way and crossed her legs. She was patient, but Jim could tell she was interested. Hop took his usual spot in the chair at her bedside, but this time there was no book to read from. The yellow light from the lamp defined the worry lines in his forehead. 

Hopper cleared his throat a few times, trying to figure out where to start. El sat attentive and patient and waited for him to begin.  


—— 

“And I wear these hair ties to remember her, so I always have her with me.” Chief Hopper said. He glanced at the alarm clock on El’s bedside table. It had only been about twenty minutes, but it felt like it had been hours. One day, he’ll take the time to let El ask all the questions she wanted about Sara, but that wasn’t the point of tonight.

“I guess I also keep it to remind myself that I did my best. I really tried,” his voice caught in his throat. He took a moment to gain his composure, hiding his quivering mouth behind his hand. “I really tried my damndest to protect her.”

“That night... that night I told you that she’s.. that she’s my little girl...” He sighed and ran a hand down his now exhausted face. He took the bracelet off his wrist and held it in with both hands looking at it as if Sarah was really in his hands. 

“That’s not really right. I mean, she is my little girl. She always will be. But... you’re my girl now too.” He slipped the bracelet over her delicate wrist. “And no matter what happens, no matter how many dictionaries you throw, or how many windows you break, I want you to know that I will always keep you safe. And as long as you have this bracelet on, I will always be with you. I promise.”

El turned her wrist over and back admiring the bright blue, weaved pattern. When she looked back to Hopper, both their eyes were swimming. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck.

“Thank you,” she whispered.


End file.
